Singles & EPs Round Up - December 31st, 2020

Spectral Fields - Spectral Fields II (Jungle Gym)

Jungle Gym is one of those whimsical labels where anything could happen at any time, much to the distress of most followers - including myself at times. Well I'm fully tuned into their most recent sonic journey as they set the controls for psychedelic, hipnotic, eastern tinged mystical realms designed for those all night desert trips.

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Joey Beads - Spirit Call (Parkway)

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"Do you remember house?". Joey Beads takes it back, way back, to the days of jacking machine grooves oozing soul, when clubbers danced until dawn rather than stand around taking enviable status update photos of themselves not even having broken sweat. The original is deadly & any DJ playing all night could drop all the remixes at various times and there would be no complaints from me.

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Gee Dee - Key Of Sea (Planet Trip)

More classic, vintage synth and house sounds, this time aimed at sunnier, Balearic floors rather than dark sweaty warehouses, although the first two cuts would work tugging tired & emotional heart strings just as the sun started peeping through the windows. Flip it over for some more chilled vibes.

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Sami El-Enany & Dampé - Opix (Faith & Industry)

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This is a really intriguing release. Plugging in & with a keen attention to sonic detail, the boys explore their genre fluidity, ranging wide across electronic, global, classical, classic and future realms with tracks suitable for headphones and forward thinking dancefloors.

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Fran Seven - Fourth (Rugged Records)

Nothing too groundbreaking here, just four tracks of quality, soft edged tech house, with shades of Detroit, hints of electro and a lovely melodic vibe running throughout. Perfect for those start of night warm up your body shuffles, as well as those after club let your mind roam free moments.

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Alex Haas, Bill Laswell - Landings (Bandcamp)

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I love a bit of dub techno, so it's great to hear jazz bassist and part time dub warrior Laswell getting in on the action, giving the opening cut that bit of extra swing and movement, that most screen watching producers can only dream of. Hit the next track button to get a nice deep chilled dubscape to lower your pulse rate.

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Icoro - A Taste From Icoro-Zoo (Self Release)

These guys from Sweden are an intriguing bunch of cultured, electro art rockers, who have a pleasingly playful approach to some serious music making. Doing their own thing in an accessible way that begs closer attention, it's great to hear someone sounding so fresh and finessed.

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Oreku - ia ia ia (Strereo Ferment)

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More fine Melbourne musical endeavour, this time from Oreku who is looking far beyond his island home to grab snippets of the world's roots music to spice up his bumping, feelgood Balearic disco stews.

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Johnny Hall y su Banda Kuku Suban Laya - Tahplu (Bandcamp)

Costa Rica has never really been on my musical map, despite a keen interest in global and specifically AfroLatin music over the years, so it was nice to stumble across Johnny Hall laying down some traditional island with a hint of El Caribe from his beautiful tropical home.

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